The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Bracteantha plant, botanically known as Bracteantha bracteata and referred to by the cultivar name Florabella Lemon.
The new Bracteantha is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Gapsted, Victoria, Australia. The objective of the program is to create and develop Bracteantha cultivars with a compact growth habit, small leaves, numerous inflorescences, attractive floret colors, and short peduncles.
The new Bracteantha originated from a cross by the Inventor of a golden yellow ray floret-colored proprietary selection of Bracteantha bracteata as the female, or seed, parent with a white ray floret-colored proprietary selection of Bracteantha bracteata as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Bracteantha was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Gapsted, Victoria, Australia in 1997. The selection of the new Bracteantha was based on its light yellow ray florets, compact growth habit, small leaf size and short peduncle length as plants of the new Bracteantha are more compact, have smaller leaves and shorter peduncles than plants of the parent selections.
Asexual reproduction of the new Bracteantha by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Gapsted, Victoria, Australia, has shown that the unique features of this new Bracteantha are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The new Bracteantha has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, light intensity, photoperiod, and water and nutritional status without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following characteristics have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x98Florabella Lemonxe2x80x99 and distinguish the new Bracteantha as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright, outwardly spreading and rounded plant form.
2. Compact plant habit.
3. Small lanceolate leaves.
4. Light yellow-colored ray florets.
5. Short peduncles that hold inflorescences above the foliage.